Li Yan rested her chin on her hand, her eyes unfocused.
“You said that when we go up the mountain, Jian Zhiqing will walk in front, followed by four, no, five dogs, running around. How impressive that would be.”
Looking briefly at the little brat in front of me, whose legs were weak and unsteady, and then recalling the scene Li Yan described, I couldn't help but laugh and nodded.
"Yeah, that's a good wish. Maybe I can even hope they'll help me catch a pheasant or a rabbit or something,"
"Haha, well, you never know. They say the dogs here are fierce, and they'd even go up the mountain to face wolves."
"Who told you that? If you dare to go up against a wolf, are you still a dog?"
"That seems like an exaggeration, doesn't it? If that's really the case, then this mountain will be your backyard, Jian Zhiqing. Pheasants and rabbits will be a piece of cake for you."
He simply rolled his eyes.
"You guys are really something, daring to say and think."
Look at them, they can't even stand up straight yet. If I point at them, I'll be so envious!
"Don't go spreading rumors outside. That back hill is collective property; we can't do anything that harms the collective interest."
Li Yan paused for a moment, then immediately shut her mouth, reflexively looked around, nodded repeatedly, and raised her hand to indicate that she understood.
The atmosphere froze for a moment, until the little brat rolled over again, landing on his back at Jian Dan's feet, before the group dared to speak loudly.
"Little Ruyi is so clumsy, it fell over again."
The four puppies are all black, but there are still some subtle differences between them.
Jixiang has a tuft of white fur under its neck, Ruyi has a white patch on its front legs, Ping'an has a noticeable small pit on its ear, and Xile is pure black.
The black creature with its belly exposed, and a white patch on its front leg, is none other than Ruyi.
"She's too small and too thin. She has no strength. She's been almost a month old and still can't stand up straight."
"Oh dear, this chin is a bit fleshy, soft,"
Girls are always drawn to furry things, and they're easily captivated by them in no time.
After listening outside for a while, Third Master Liu knocked on the door and even made sure to make a sound.
"Jian Zhiqing, are you there?"
Upon hearing this, the girls in the courtyard immediately quieted down, quickly got up, and went to open the door.
"Third Master, what brings you here? Are you worried about Big Black? Come in, come in quickly."
The old man didn't deny it and followed him into the courtyard.
The new doghouse was delivered by Liu Guangming the day before and placed against the wall. A thick meadow had been planted in front of the doghouse, and Dahei was lying on the meadow sunbathing. In just a few days, in the old man's eyes, it had been completely transformed.
Its fur was smooth now. Although it was still just skin and bones, it looked up alertly at the sound. The way it bared its teeth and looked up was nothing like the way it looked when it couldn't open its eyes that day.
The old man was surprised. He walked around the small dog and circled the big dog several times.
"Oh my god, this, this is Big Black?"
Good heavens, it really came back to life? Oh my, oh my, its fur is even blacker than before!
What did you feed them?
He simply moved closer to the old man and whispered,
"Didn't you say you were hungry? So I fed you porridge."
He gestured with his hands in a circle, as he spoke.
"It's such a big bowl, but the little one didn't eat much of it; it ate the rest."
The old man clearly didn't believe it. How could porridge alone restore someone who was barely clinging to life like this? Why was he so skeptical?
"Just porridge? Didn't you add anything else?"
They say experience counts, and the older generation is indeed more cunning. He glanced back at the group of educated youth still playing with the puppies, then lowered his voice even further, almost to a whisper.
"I caught a pheasant, chopped it up with the bones and meat and put it in, so it's like meat porridge."
The old man was stunned for a moment, then realized that this young educated youth was no ordinary person. He could even chop wild boars with a machete, so why would he be short of meat?
"Hahaha, little girl, you're really something! If that kid finds out..."
He paused for a moment, then shook his head.
"Heh, even if they knew, they'd probably just be watching."
These days, who doesn't want to eat meat? But how many families can actually afford it?
Take the mountains for example. Yes, small prey are quietly taken home by the villagers without being reported. But first, you have to be able to hunt prey, right?
Another thing is that everyone is short of food. If someone catches a game, they'll feed everyone.
If someone is willing to give up an entire chicken for a dog, you probably can't find many people like that in the whole commune.
Now that he was completely relieved, he remembered the little brats and casually asked them a question as he stood up.
"How's the little one?"
A simple sigh.
"It's all good, but I can't stand up straight."
Although I don't know much about dogs, I have some experience with them in my past life, so I roughly know that puppies can stand up and walk around twenty days old, and some can even run around.
Moreover, as far as she knew, dogs in the countryside were hardy and had been working in the fields for a long time.
The old man squatted down, patted the puppy's belly, and then pinched its bones and paws.
"It's nothing, it's just hungry. It was starving before, and the big dog has recovered. This little thing's bones are soft to begin with, and it will harden up after eating a few more meals."
The old man was now more at ease. He looked around the yard.
"Don't worry, rural dogs are tough. They'll recover after a few more days of feeding and you won't need to feed them as much."
"These pups, don't let their current appearance fool you. In another two or three weeks, you'll be able to take them up the mountain. Country dogs are born to roam the wild; you can't raise them with excessive pampering."
Sure enough, a few days later, Dahei bravely stood up and resumed its duty of guarding the house.
The auspicious and lucky ones, along with the simple daily feeding, soon had shiny fur and were running around the yard happily.
The safety issue has been resolved, and Jian Dan can now work with peace of mind, going out early and returning late.
We apply farmyard manure when we plow the land; we don't use chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Our main job now is weeding.
The corn seedlings are more than half a meter tall. When weeding, it is inevitable that when you bend over, your whole face will be buried in the corn leaves. Scratches are the most common injury, and the exposed arms suffer the same fate.
Working under the scorching sun, sweat streamed down their faces. The fresh wounds from the morning stung intensely. The villagers were used to it, or had already wrapped scarves around their necks for protection. But the group of educated youth were full of complaints.
"My face was scratched,"
"Mine too, ouch, I don't even dare to touch it, it's burning hot."
The distinction between the old and new educated youth was clear, which was evident even in their walking style.
Li Yan and a few other veteran educated youths formed a separate group, while five new educated youths walked together, along with Lin Dongfang, who was not a member of the group.
Oh, and we should also add "simple".
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